Not worth full sentences...yet...not worth reading
I am tired and weak. There's so much to do and say and not enough words. Alaska-Anchorage this time, this summer. To keep me busy and sane, excitement. It will be good to be back in contact with the native alaskan community again. Especially in more of a counseling role. I miss home-the green the ferns the friends (none of which are here in Chicago). But when I'm home, will I miss here?--HP, you,, Lake Michigan. Probably., slightly. today at soccer i felt like i was going to faint, my worst game ever, we are a terrible team, but still are undefeated. it's announced: we're in the finals. oh and happy birthday jen. 22. baloons, beer and friends around the henderson table at pierce. who would have thought we would all meet back up three years later. fork-in-hand, apple-in-flight, and the yee-haws. Mean Girls at doc. i am half in/half out. half appreciated/half left out. sorry you didn't get the job. sorry i'm sorta selfishly happy. and sad at the same time. no set plans. no plans at all. dry scratchy throat. my hours are filled for the next 48. and things are speeding up. there is no free time until june. and then i won't be in a good mood. not until september. please write please call i miss you already, especially if you're reading this. and spencer, come home soon, no more iraq, no more kuwait. be safe. CELEBRATion: she is goign to idaho ubm/s this summer. Sam, I'm so proud of you! oh i miss my UBC girls!

Fashion
I fell in love with a dress tonight. I totally want to try it on, but I would be scared to lay a finger on it with a price tag of $545. Ouch.
In other news, two [other] dresses are being shipped to the Chicago Nordstrom's for me to try on as potentials for Nicole's maid of honor dress for me and they should be here within the week. Who wants to go downtown with me sometime soon to try on dresses? I really really want to have a fun day out, plus I need advice on how the dress looks! Plus, for all you fourth-years out there this would be a great opportunity to get a graduation outfit if need be [to be quite honest I don't endorse buying loads of clothes, especially if you already have a nice enough outfit, but I just want to give people inspiration to come...or at least dream, with me]. Any volunteers?!?!--male or female! :o)

Making Geophysical Science Exciting
Hehe. Don't get me wrong. I think that the subject is awesome and exciting just as it is (which is why I'll recieve my BS in geosci just a few short weeks), but for those of you who have doubts read on & take a look at what I got emailed today from the Paleo people (sidenote: each week there is a "Noon-Baboon" talk/lunch, but this week the name has been changed slightly). I thought it was quite amusing:

"IchthyoBaboon: Systematics and morphological diversification of headstanding fishes and their relatives"

A description is included below for your enticement.
Hope to see you there.

*******************************************************
COME BE AMONG THE FIRST to view a strange, undescribed species of Venezuelan fish with a mouth where no mouth should be! MARVEL at B--'s preparedness as he gives a practice talk a full month before the meeting. HECKLE his inability to determine the critter's proper phylogenetic placement!

STAY and WONDER at the extreme morphological diversity of the Anostomimorpha, whose mouths face forwards, downwards, upwards and even backwards! BE SHOCKED by the lack of diversity in their similarly speciose slime-sucking sisters! DECRY the complete absence of fossils from this study! Handwaving explanations for profound macroevolutionary trends provided at no additional charge.

Pretty Neat
Friday night the Chicago Initiative celebrated it's half-way mark by inviting all of the large donors to the University to have a dinner in Rockefeller Chapel. A dinner you ask...how does that work in Rockefeller? Well, believe it or not they built a floor over the pews in the sanctuary, stairs leading up to this new floor and then brought in table chairs and all the elegant adornments. The dinner took place just before dusk, with sunlight streaming in the stainglassed windows. How beautiful this all must have been!

Delicious, what I had for dinner this evening at the Drake Hotel:

Appetizer: A cup of Bookkeepers Soup, with a side of Sherry
Main Course: EUROPEAN IMPORTED DOVER SOLE, Sautéed & Boned Tableside with Meunière Sauce
Dessert: Poached Pear and Tiramisù Demi-Tasse with Orange Zest

At the beginning of the dinner the waiters also placed in front of us a crystal glass with a slice of cucumber and what looked liked tuna-fish mixed with spices inside. "Compliments of the chef!", but we were so busy talking (or maybe it just didn't look appetizing enough to anyone else) that no one ate any of it. It just sat there in the beautiful crystal glasses until they cleared the table for our appetizers. I felt really bad though for not eating it and wasting so much food, but at the same time I didn't feel comfortable enough to be the brave one to start on it. I mean, really, how are you supposed to eat it anyways? With a fork, spoon, or just "gulp" it down since it's in a glass...i never know these things. At all the fancy dinners I've gone to I just follow what everyone else does...that's the golden rule.
Since I am not a seafood fan by any means, I was very skeptical of ordering the Dover Sole, especially because it was $49! (I could not believe the price!--the most expensive dish of my life, but it sure was good) ...but T- said that it was most delicious and only had a light fishy taste so I just had to be spontaneous & risky and get it. But it was hard to pass up the steak!
All in all the dinner was great. I got to meet the new scholar for the first time, talk with T- and I-, see Swanie for the last time before I graduate (she's my fairy-godmother who is so sweet!) and met her nephew who flew over from Norway to visit. I also got to meet Randy's sister, who had flown in from Connecticut for the weekend. It was a pleasant dinner--I look forward to these every year.

Last night I went to see a Sufjan Stevens show at Shubas. I really enjoyed it. The opening act..a guy playing acoustic guitar was excellent. But the second act, some lady named Rosie, was pretty horrible. Luckily though Sufjan coming on at 11:40 made up for my sore back, feet and ears and played for over an hour (although it went by really fast). All I will say is that he sounds 1,000 times better without the Danielson Family as backup singers....it was a great show!

I love fancy dinners, especially when they're free!
Sunday night I'll be dining at the Cape Cod Room in the Drake Hotel. Mmmmm. Even though I don't like seafood I've heard they have steak too. MMmmmm steak!

FREE COFFEE
Happy Earth Day tomorrow!
Bring a reusable mug to Starbucks and Chicago-area Starbucks' will give you a free 160z cup of coffee all day Thursday. Also, at the Randolph Street, Chicago and Franklin, Northwestern Station, and Union Station "L"/metra stops Starbucks will be giving away free coffee tumblers.

Geology of Toothpaste
So lately I have been brushing my teeth with Tom's of Maine toothpaste. The main ingredient is calcium carbonate, CaCO3. Each time I brush my teeth all I can think about is putting a chunk of calcite or limestone on my toothbrush and swooshing it around my mouth.

This is SICKENING (like all Gentlemen clubs are). Especially the last paragraph.

The Good:

• It rained, lightly and softly. making the grass GREEN!
  
• I decided this afternoon, that I want to be a Doula, and I'm inspired to write my final paper on the Chicago Doula Program, which I just found out about today, and it's AWESOME.
  
• Kate wore her red tights!
  
• I just watched 24
  
• I just got a GMail account, which is now my 6th active email account
  
• The TORNADO WARNING that flashed on the tv screen multiple times from the National Weather Service telling me that I better get prepared for Cook county to be hit scared me, but in the end South Chicago wasn't hit (although the town of Utica, Illinois is now wiped out)
  
• I understand my body in terms of bio-medicine a little better
  
• GeoUnion is getting tshirts, and boy do i love tshirts, especially nerdy ones
  
• I was content all day long today. There was just something so good about the day. It especially started off well. I woke up--extremely awake--at 6amish, which usually is NOT my idea of fun. I was really confused because I'm not the type of person who wakes up in the middle of the night...I'm a straight-sleeper. So waking up was rather odd. I thought right away that something must be wrong, so I looked out my window. The sunrise. Gorgeous. Pink/purple/golden, amazing. It just sat up in bed in awe admiring the show and watched the sun peek out all golden over Lake Michigan. It was as if God was trying to comfort me. And it worked.
  

The Not-So-Good:

• Health & Healing Across Cultures really sucked today. however nice and sweet she is, the instructor doesn't know how to lead a good discussion and it was a painful class to sit through. 30 people and dead silence for half the time.
  
• Decisions, decisions. I am still at a toss-up with my concept of medicine. When is it good and when is it bad? It just seems to me that so many things are over-prescribed these days and people put no stake in their own body or healthy habits to help them get better. My current motto on health is don't put anything into your body (Rx drugs, etc) unless it absolutely needs to be there. But my line on this has gotten fuzzy. I really don't take any medications at all, except when I absolutely have to...as in having an asthma attack or severe cramps...and only when I can't bear the pain or when I am almost to the point of not breathing. I don't know where I came up with this idea, I think it's partially because I've just never really been sick or hurt and have not needed "traditional medicine". It's also because I was mentored for a while by a Native American Healer who taught me about medicinal plants and teas. I've just always placed a lot of stake in nature and the natural process of healing. I'm really interested in naturopathic and holistic medicine, although I've never actually been to a naturopathic clinic. Hmm. I don't think I'm making much sense or explaining my views. I should attempt again in the near future when I have more time and energy to actually say something clear and thought-provoking. But basically I need to make a health decision soon and I'm confused. I feel like medicine (not ALL of medicine, but just some aspects of it) is almost an invasion on my body, so it's kinda scary. ok, enough about that for now.
  

Celebration!
Kate has a blog!. Now she'll give me some inspiration to actually update mine sometime soon. Sorry to all your readers out there (however few you are), I know I've been lacking in content for quite some time. There's really no excuses. I have plenty to write about, especially thoughts relating to the interesting stuff that I've been reading and hearing in my Ideologies/Technologies of Sexual Reproduction and Current Issues in Medical Economics classes--both are excellent courses that I highly recommend.

Where to get FREE Ice Cream (The annual update)
1.) Ben & Jerry's FREE CONE DAY, Tuesday 27 April, 12pm-8pm
2.) Baskin & Robbins, FREE SCOOP NIGHT, Wednesday 28 April, 6pm-10pm, in Celebration of Children's Literacy

not hired. not HIRED. not returning for another summer. personality clash. a shock. i'm sorry dude.

but on the other hand my interview went well today. i think [fingers crossed]. i find out the results on monday. will i be in anchorage this summer? i really really really really want to be.

You just have to love Portland.
I just called home and talked to about 25 of my relatives. In the 80's, bright and sunny everyone is playing outside: easter egg hunts, strolling through the garden, croquet, my dad taking people on rides on his motorcycle. A nice dinner. I wish I was home!

In other good news.....
A new MAX (Metropolitan Area Express [lightrail]) line is opening 4 months ahead of schedule and millions under budget! That's some great city planning! I wish I could celebrate the new Yellow Line on May 1st, look what TriMet is offering for the Grand Opening: a party at each stop!
What additionally makes me smile is the fact that the city saves $3 million by turning to Green construction, making it the national environmental model for lightrail!

May the culture of life and love render vain the logic of death.
A good quote from Pope John Paul II on this Easter morning. (No, I'm not catholic).

He has risen!!
Happy Easter everyone.

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. And all of my friends in Ketchikan agree. You don't build things just because you can. This would inconvienance so many people, most likely open the forest up to logging, ruin the landscape, and inevitably will go unused. Millions of dollars wasted that could have gone to much more useful programs: education, healthcare, community projects. Makes me so angry!

Much of this is a nice vision for the UofC also. Thanks, Michael.

months later, the thought of jill still makes my blood boil.
i would rather be unemployed than work for her ever again.
somehow D and J will. which makes me angry, cuz it makes me feel like our [unawknowledged but very important] letter looses credibility.

i bought myself a cadberry creme egg today. i don't even like them that much, but just like a little kid i couldn't resist.

a little history:
"Cadbury Creme Egg was introduced by Cadbury brothers in the early 1920's and was first available in 1923, but the Creme Egg as we know it today was not made until 1971....The Cadbury Creme Egg plant at Bournville can produce more than 1.5 million eggs per day. It is the best selling confectionery item between January 1st and Easter; over 200 million are sold annually"

still unworn pink heels, bhangra dancing on harper avenue. if i lived in hyde park that would be my street with a colorful house an actual yard full of flowers. i promise i wouldn't paint the fungi.
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chicago still spells lonliness. no matter how much i am "having a good time", there is one emotion/understanding that is contantly present. it won't be shooed away no matter how hard i try.
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what would an "white american" cultural show look like? would people be angry with it?
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what if i had my very own cultural show. displaying my heritage. i can't even imagine what that would entail. missing steps and cues, stage fright. colorful culture(s). dances. exuberance. maybe some day i'll have my own cultural show zine.
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this quarter is the quarter to get back in shape. or at least start down that sweating, happy, road of exhausting but content movement again. soccer, water aerobics and a bit of running. lets get those muscles back, ok?

ps. I'm heading back to alaska this summer. [well, i hope!]. applying now. cross your fingers and say some prayers for me. i'm super excited. 4 weeks. the perfect opportunity.